Efficient apple sorting line with water unloading
This project was prepared for a farm that needed its own line for sorting large batches of apples. The layout was adapted to the existing hall and divided between two rooms in order to maintain efficient loading, convenient operation and proper organisation of fruit receiving.
Apple sorting line with water unloading, a long buffer and an optical sorting machine.
Country of installation: Poland
The customer emphasises that, with proper work organisation, the line can sort up to one truckload of apples per day. Over the course of a season, the farm processes approximately 700 tonnes of fruit per year. For this reason, it was essential to combine efficient unloading, continuous apple feeding and the ability to quickly separate fruit into several quality classes.
One room was too small to comfortably fit the entire line, so the layout was divided into two parts. The water channel passes through a specially prepared opening in the wall, while the loading area was placed closer to the fruit storage area. This allows the operator to feed pallet boxes more efficiently, while the rest of the line operates in a separate space dedicated to apple sorting and receiving.
Water unloading enables gentle emptying of pallet boxes and stable feeding of apples to the next part of the line. The long water channel acts as a buffer, reduces downtime and allows a larger quantity of fruit to be prepared before sorting.
In this installation, the channel was routed through a specially prepared opening in the wall, which made it possible to connect the loading area with the rest of the line without rebuilding the entire hall layout.
After unloading, the apples pass through drying and enter the optical sorting machine. The operator can set size grades, colour level and rejection criteria for damaged, rotten fruit or fruit that does not meet the required quality standards.
The extended receiving layout, with a larger number of tables and additional conveyors, makes it possible to efficiently separate apples into several commercial classes without excessively increasing the number of people needed to operate the line.
This project shows that an apple sorting line can be adapted not only to the required capacity, but also to the existing building, loading logistics and the farm’s way of working. Dividing the line between two rooms made it possible to use the available space more effectively, shorten the transport route for pallet boxes and maintain convenient working conditions during sorting.